Report on AY 2022 Autumn Term Brown Bag Lunch & Learn (October 3, 11 and 31, 2022)

In addition to facilitating the proactive sharing of skills and specialist knowledge among faculty, Brown Bag Lunch & Learn (BBL&L) seeks to enable faculty members to learn from one another’s classroom experiences, including both things that went well and not so well, and meet colleagues from outside their own programs and departments. Furthermore, BBL&L aims to provide opportunities for faculty members to share information with one another as well as with staff members.

In the BBL&L sessions held in the AY 2022 Autumn Term, faculty members gave presentations on teaching argumentation in the English for Liberal Arts Program (ELA) and enhancing student participation in large online courses. In addition, as a special event to celebrate the 20th session of BBL&L, a campus tour was organized.

BBL&L #19: October 3, 2022

Theme: Teaching Argumentation in the English for Liberal Arts Program (ELA)　

Facilitator: Ms. Susan Edwards, English for Liberal Arts Program (ELA)

In this session, Ms. Edwards discussed how she teaches argumentation to first-year students in her Academic Reading and Writing (ARW) classes. She shared a question framework and grading rubrics which she developed with her colleague in the English for Liberal Arts Program (ELA) for ARW classes. Three faculty members attended the session, in addition to the CTL Director, the CTL Associate Director, and one staff member who manages BBL&L.

BBL&L #20: October 11, 2022

Theme: ICU Campus Exploration Tour　

Facilitator: Mr. Tetsuro Tomioka, Managing Trustee for General Affairs

A special event was held to celebrate the 20th session of BBL&L. The event was styled as an “ICU campus exploration tour,” and the participants, ranging from faculty and staff members who had recently joined ICU to staff members who had been at ICU for several decades, went on a tour led by Mr. Tomioka, Managing Trustee for General Affairs, and explored various historical artifacts and trees on the ICU campus. Standing before the monument to Reverend McLean, inspiration for the creation of ICU, and traces of the wartime Nakajima Aircraft Laboratory in ICU's University Hall, the participants listened to commentaries provided by the trustee and ICU Archives staff on topics such as the history and philosophy of ICU’s founding, and the participants were able to deepen their understanding. There were some artifacts whose existence had gone unnoticed even by those who had been at ICU for a long time, and there were even some points during the tour where the participants gave exclamations of surprise. Five faculty members, three members of research institutes, etc., and five staff members attended the session, in addition to the CTL Associate Director and three staff members who manage BBL&L.

BBL&L #21: October 31, 2022

Theme: Enhancing Student Participation in a Large Online Foundation Course　

Facilitator: Prof. Sawa Omori, Department of Politics and International Studies

Prof. Omori presented a strategy to encourage student participation that she tried in her course DPS101, Introduction to Development Studies, which is a large course sometimes taken by more than 170 students. She described how she conducted student group presentations in a panel format combining Zoom and in-person attendance, explaining in detail the preparations she made before the class and how she actually ran the class. This particularly attracted many questions and comments from the participants, who shared their own experiences and engaged in a lively discussion. A CTL staff member in charge of ICT was also present and offered faculty members information about features available in Moodle. Four faculty members and four staff members attended the session, in addition to the CTL Director, the CTL Associate Director, and four staff members who manage BBL&L.